Cougar Cubs are in the Nursery

by Michelle Curley

It doesn’t get any cuter than this!

Two eight-week-old Cougar Cubs are now on display in our Children’s Zoo Nursery. The brothers, named “Joseph” and “Tecumseh” are here to help the Zoo tell a great story about this legendary cat that once lived in all our back yards.

The brothers, born September 19, 2010, will soon join the Cat Ambassador Program in preparation for roles as Animal Ambassadors in the future Night Hunters exhibit.

They weigh approximately 8.5 pounds and are eating meat, four to five times a day, for a total of roughly four pounds daily. As adults these two males will weigh anywhere from 140 to 200 pounds. Also known as a Mountain Lion, Puma, or Panther, the cougar is the largest of the small cats.

You can see them in the Children’s Zoo now and throughout the PNC Festival of Lights.

That sure is a lot of meat. Try a mix of that and dried cat food. If they are going to be around people a lot, a modified diet will tone them down.

Be interesting to see when their eyes change. At one time, cougars were thought to be the smallest of the large cats – they could even breed with Siberian tigers, what different kittens came out of that.